Goose Island Brewery's Mild Winter Ale

So here I am, minding my own business on a late Saturday afternoon and I says to myself, "Why the heck don't I run through some of these Goose Island beers before the big Owen show". So here I am. I been real pleased with these characters. You might have remember about them when I covered their brewery in this review.

My overall opinion has been that Goose Island is at this point, the best brewery I've tasted in Chicago, though that my prove to be the Chex Mix "Bold and Zesty" hasty generalization of the month. But I mean not picking up a sampler from these guys is about as smart as sticking your dangus in car door; I mean "C'mon".

I like this winter ale, it isn't as heavy as most winter ales, but it does say "mind winter" not "wild winter". It goes down pretty fast and has a nice clean head on it contrasting its dark, brown appearance. So this won't be as heavy as a stout, porter or even Neil Diamond's brother. It's got a nice toffee, caramel flavor. If you swish it in your mouth like a floozy at a frat party you'll immediately notice a subtle, mildly butter, nutty flavor to this beer; really good. The aroma is a sweet, choco-toff-amel scent that is more complex than long division to a 3rd grader.

The ABV is 5.6% with an IBU rating of 28, which makes it 100 points less bitter than Burt Reynolds in "Cop and a Half"; that stone, cold glare he had during that movie; Jesus! They use Tettnang and Willamette hops; I never heard of Tettnang but it is probably pretty good. Malt includes are Carapils, Dark Chocolate, 2-Row, and Roast Barley.

This beer is a cousin, in my opinion, to the Snow Cap Ale that Pyramid puts out around the same time of the year. Not a cousin like "Gail the Snail" or some cousin you might hate. But like a cousin that you think is pretty cool, but you aren't really cousins, which is good in case you ever kissed on accident, you know? I mean a lot worse things happen in West Virginia so I don't know why everyone is on MY case!?!?

...that kind of cousin.

So, I don't know if I could drink a whole case on this watching the Blackhawks get shut out by St. Louis, but it's a great addition to this sampler. It's got a great taste and at $13 for a 12 pack, you'd have to be as smart as Philip Rivers in the final two minutes of a football game to not buy this.

Drinkability: 7/10

Taste: 7/10

Value: 8/10
Curb Appeal: 7/10

Overall: 7.25/10


Other Goose Island Reviews:
Goose Island Harvest Ale
Goose Island Sofie Belgian Farmhouse Ale
Goose Island India Pale Ale
Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Hefeweisen
Goose Island Kilgubbin Irish Red Ale